The present disclosure relates to methods for treating subterranean formations by diverting treatment fluids therein.
Hydrocarbons (e.g., oil or gas) residing in subterranean formations may be recovered by driving resources from the formation into a well bore using, for example, a pressure gradient that exists between the formation and the well bore, the force of gravity, displacement of the hydrocarbons from the formation using a pump or the force of another fluid injected into the well or an adjacent well.
Production of hydrocarbons from well bores tends to decrease over time in part due to gradual decreasing formation permeability in the vicinity of the well bore. To provide for the production of more hydrocarbons, it is a common practice to stimulate subterranean formations with treatment fluids in order to increase the permeability thereof. Treatment fluids can be used in a variety of subterranean treatment operations. As used herein, the terms “treat,” “treatment,” “treating,” and grammatical equivalents thereof refer to any subterranean operation that uses a fluid in conjunction with achieving a desired function and/or for a desired purpose. Use of these terms does not imply any particular action by the treatment fluid. Illustrative treatment operations can include, for example, fracturing operations, gravel packing operations, acidizing operations, scale dissolution and removal, consolidation operations, and the like.
Formation acidizing, or “acidizing,” is a stimulation method for increasing the flow of desirable hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation using an acidic treatment fluid. In typical stimulation operations of subterranean formations, stimulation treatments may be performed in multiple stages. These multiple stage treatments may be performed simultaneously, but the multiple stage stimulation treatments may be performed sequentially. Multiple stage treatments are especially desirable when well bores are completed in multi-zones that have high permeability contrast. In each stage, it is often desirable to divert the stimulation treatment fluids away from more permeable zones, causing the stimulation treatment fluid to be diverted to less permeable zones of the formation.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted, such embodiments do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation should be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.